Paper Authors

Sophia Scott
Southeast Missouri State University

Dr. Sophia Scott is an Assistant Professor at Southeast Missouri State University in the Department of Industrial and Engineering Technology. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses. She is currently interested in using face to face, blended, and online course formats to increase student learning, problem solving, project management and teaming.

Abstract

NOTE: The first page of text has been automatically extracted and included below in lieu of an abstract

The Blended Classroom: The Best of Both Worlds?

Abstract

Most universities offer the traditional face-to-face class. With the rise in technology, online
courses are now becoming popular. Although not a new concept, the blended classroom has the
opportunity to blend the best features of the online and classroom environment. This research
was conducted to determine if blended courses provided evidence of student satisfaction and cost
savings compared to face-to-face courses. A Five Pillar Quality Framework was used to assess
blended courses. Five engineering education courses offered in both the face-to-face format and
blended format were used. Grades were analyzed using a t-test, and the results of a survey given
to students are presented. The results supported prior research that a blended course offers
student satisfaction. Cost savings were also realized based on reduced travel time to off-campus
locations. The blended classroom may be the best of both worlds.

Introduction

Highly trained engineers are needed in the workforce. With technological change, traditional
training methods are being transformed; making blended learning one of the hottest buzzwords.
This training mixes various learning approaches, including e-learning, face-to-face classrooms,
self-paced modules, interactive television, and videos. Although blended learning is not a new
concept, universities are seeing the advantages of offering different course formats to aid in
student learning. Most universities give students the choice of face-to-face or online courses.
Engineering education programs are usually harder to teach in a fully online environment
because of the need for laboratories, machinery, chemicals or equipment. The structure of the
classroom blended with the Web could be the answer for engineering education. Blended
learning can be described as the optimum balance of online and face-to-face classes that foster
student learning at reasonable costs. The limited literature on blended learning is full of
examples from all disciplines. A number of universities (State University of New York,
University of Massachusetts, University of South Florida, and Penn State University) have
converted entire programs to the blended format1. Other universities are considering the blended
format as an option to increase student learning and decrease costs. The purpose of this paper is
to reflect on the increase of blended learning course formats and provide evidence of student
satisfaction and cost savings using a quality assessment model. While the research on blended
learning is just beginning, colleges and universities are seeing the pedagogical advantages. It is
hoped that this paper will get a dialog started. The blended classroom: Is it the best of both
worlds?

Theoretical Background

What is blended learning?

The traditional face-to-face classroom is still the norm in most universities. With the availability
of Web-based technologies, numerous classes also include a Website where students have access
to assignments and grade books2. This type of class is called Web-enhanced. A Web-enhanced
class is considered an extension of the traditional face-to-face class. While face-to-face classes